"Scientists May Have Cleared Gene Therapy Hurdle"
Scientists may have found a way to slip a special type of disease-fighting virus past the guard of the body's immune system and into targeted cells where it can do its intended work, according to new research. A harmless virus called adeno-associated virus, or AAV, has the ability to help the body. It can deliver therapeutic genetic material into whatever damaged or diseased cells it’s been genetically engineered to target. But the AAV first needs to make it past the antibodies that want to shut it down. Researchers may have found a way to do just that, said Marta Adamiak, senior research associate in the department of medicine and the division of cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the lead investigator on a study. She discussed the research at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions meeting in San Antonio. Adamiak said researchers discovered that encasing the AAV inside containers, often called vesicles or exosomes that are naturally secreted from cells can help the virus travel easily without being detected by antibodies.
- Marta Adamiak, Senior Research Associate, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai